How many people do you know who have passed up a magnificent opportunity because they might have had to mortgage their house or quit the job they had held for a number of years. Rather than step out boldly, they stepped back into safety.
Abraham Maslow said you will either step forward into growth or step back into safety. He also advised us if you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.
I am not suggesting that you become irresponsible, which is quite different from taking risks, although I will agree it is a fine line that separates the two.
The opposite of taking a risk is, of course, playing it safe. The latter would probably be a reasonable way of life for seventy or eighty years if you had a contract to live for a thousand years. Playing it safe is a pretty dull way to live and you end up looking back on your life wondering what would have happened if you had done this or tried that.
People who play it safe are generally not very exciting. In fact, they would probably border on being very boring. On a scale of one to ten as a risk taker, where do you stand?
Add a little spice to your life today and take a risk. Remember, if you play it safe you may end up sorry.